The best day
by Butterfly1989
Summary: L/J a short fluffy one-shot about James bad day and Lily making it the best.


**Just a short something that popped into my head yesterday! I konw I have other stories to update, but I wanted to write this down as well. So, let me know what you think about it! I appreciate every comment! :) Every spelling mistake is intentional and you can totally keep it! :))**

**Diclaimer: I have nothing! (I'm such a loser)**

_The best day_

James Potter craved for sleep. It had been such a long day. One of those days which drag on and on, no end in sight. It seemed a long time ago he had stood up this morning. He couldn't even remember the feeling of being well rested. All he felt now was tiredness, his eyelids dropping now and then and his head falling to his chest in those short seconds of unconsciousness. Memories of the day swirled around in his head, mixing and sophisticating themselves. Pictures of lesson, dinner, his friends, Lily, a few stupid Slytherins and Quidditch practice encased his mind like fog, making it impossible to think clearly.

What a dreadful day. It had been fine in the morning, but then he had stood up. His so called friends had thought it funny to hide his wand, and after he'd found it, he had had to hurry to come to the first lesson in time. So he'd rushed down the stairs to the Gryffindor common room, one hand occupied by buttoning up his shirt, the other hand combing his messy black hair to no avail. Unfortunately James wasn't that talented when it came to multitasking. So, naturally, after the forth stair he had lost his balance and had fallen down the staircase in a lump of clothes. It had had to be a coincidence that Lily Evans had chosen just that day to be late for class as well. And before James had realized what had been going on he had found himself on top of her. Smooth, very smooth.

At first he had been very shocked to find himself in this situation, looking down at this beautiful, petite girl which had held his interest for more than two years now. And he hadn't been able to help himself – he had savoured the moment. His face only inches away from hers he had been nearer to her than ever before. He had been even able to smell her intoxicating scent. Her startling green eyes had looked up at him, shocked at the beginning, but getting angrier as the seconds had ticked by.

"Potter!" she had finally called, pulling him out of his trance.

"Oh, sorry." He had pulled himself up quickly and had stretched out his hand to help her up, which she had ignored completely. Awkwardly he had run the hand through his hair, not knowing what else to do.

"You're such a klutz sometimes." She had said, her eyes narrowed and her finger poking into his chest. He had tried to apologize but before he had been able to say a word she had been out of the common room, leaving him staring after her. Just great.

He had been late for potions, of course and Professor Slughorn had decided that cleaning the dungeons after the lesson would be appropriate as a punishment. So he had been late for dinner as well. When he had arrived in the Great Hall he had slapped Sirius on the back of his head before sitting down.

"Hey!" Sirius had protested, chocking and coughing on his sausage and covering Remus with small, chewed sausage-pieces as a result, who muttered a "Gee, thanks" under his breath. "What was that for?"

"For being an idiot and for hiding my wand this morning." James had said, helping himself to some food. Just as he had been about to dig in Professor McGonagall had called for him.

"Mr. Potter, if you'd have a moment?" James had been about to protest but then he had seen the Professors' redheaded company and had changed his mind. He had followed Professor McGonagall and Lily out of the Great Hall for a short unscheduled Head meeting.

The afternoon had gone by slowly. Every second had felt like minutes. He remembered Lily and a few Gryffindor girls during Herbology talking about their planned girls' night. He remembered how exhausted he had been after Quidditch training. He remembered a few Slytherins mocking a little first year on his way back to the tower and how he wasn't allowed to hex them into oblivion, but giving them detentions instead. And he remembered his friends going to bed hours ago. Bed... that sounded nice. A soft, warm bed in which he could rest and forget about this awful day... His eyes closed and opened and closed...

With a jolt he sat up straighter, forcing himself to stay awake. _Concentrate Potter, c'mon_, he told himself, rubbing his head with both his hands to stay awake. He glared at the half done essay with dismay, as if it would write itself if he just stared long enough. Stupid Astronomy and stupid planet constellations keeping him from sleep. It was so frustrating. Sighing deeply he took one of the books lying in front of him. He could hear laughter coming from the girls' dorm and someone shouted in frustration. "You guys are awful. You can't make me do that!"

James glanced briefly at the staircase leading to the dorms and then back to his essay. He scribbled a few words down, copying them from the book. With a yawn he leaned back into the couch, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them again when he heard a door being opened and someone was shoved out rather forcefully it seemed, by the muttered profanities. Then it was silent again. After waiting for a few moments and not hearing anything he closed his eyes again, yawning hearty.

"Tired?" James jumped and his eyes shot open when he heard the voice beside him. He glanced briefly at the source of his scare and then ran his hand through his hair nervously.

"God, Lily." he mumbled awkwardly. It was just his luck that it was Lily seeing him so jumpy. She sat down beside him, not near enough to touch, but nearer than she would have a year before. He risked another glance at her. She wore her pyjama pants and a tank top, her creamy white skin, covered with freckles glowed deliciously in the light of the fire. Her deep green eyes were fixed on his essay, scanning it quickly. Her head was slightly bent; her dark red hair tied up in a messy ponytail, revealing her slender, elegant neck. His eyes travelled down to her collarbone and slowly farther down to the cleavage that was normally not being revealed by the school uniform.

"Quite good." she commented and he exhaled audibly, looking away from her before his thoughts were able to consume him totally. He coughed once, clearing his mind.

"Smart, aren't I?" he grinned when she glared at him.

"I would agree," she said slowly, looking back at his parchment, "if you'd have spelled constellation correctly." she smirked triumphantly when James glanced at the essay sceptically. _Damn! _He added an extra _l_ grudgingly while yawning again.

"Why are you still up?" she asked, observing him closely.

"I could ask you the same question."

Lily shrugged nonchalantly. "Girls night." she explained shortly, observing her surroundings as if looking for other occupants in the room at this deadly hour.

"And this girls night... includes me?" he asked absent-minded, scribbling another sentence onto the parchment. "Not that I'm complaining." he added as an afterthought, glancing at her. To his astonishment he saw her blushing furiously. Lily Evans – blushing because of something he had said... it was a first. Maybe he hallucinated? He really should go to bed soon.

"I... I just..." she stuttered, running a hand through her long red locks, "needed a time out." satisfied with her answer she looked around the common room once again.

They fell into a short silence, James almost finishing his essay while Lily's eyes observed the room restlessly. "So..." she began, her eyes finally resting on James. "Where's your allegiance?"

James smirked, completing the last sentence with a dot.

"They're not up to something if you assume anything like that."

"I do not-" she stopped when she was met by his raised eyebrows, the corners of her mouth twitching. "This wasn't..." she began, but gave up then when he nodded his head at her exaggeratedly.

"They're in bed, actually." he answered her previous question after a moment while setting aside his parchment. "And I should probably follow them soon." he sighed, but didn't move. The moments with Lily alone were rare enough; he didn't want to miss the opportunity to be with her for a little longer.

He sank back into the cushions of the couch with a sigh and they sat in silence for a while, Lily fidgeting oddly beside him.

"Oh, bugger." she whispered to herself and before he knew what was going on she was sitting on his lap and her arms were around his neck.

"Lily" he began but he didn't remember what he had been about to say because at exactly that moment Lily pressed her lips onto his.

It was so unexpected he wasn't able to move for five seconds, which was exactly how long the kiss lasted. When she broke away he looked at her with wide, shocked eyes. Her hands slid from his neck, down his broad shoulders until the touch was eventually lost.

"Lily" he breathed again and she looked up at him, their eyes locking for a moment. But as soon as they looked at each other she began to shift, about to stand up. He reacted on impulse. Without thinking his actions over, he rested his right hand on the small of her back, holding her to him and making an escape for her impossible. His other hand caressed her cheek softly, hesitatingly, his thumb touching her lower lip gently.

And then their lips met again. Hesitatingly, slowly their lips moved against each other. It was nothing he had ever experienced before. After such a long time he was finally with her, he was finally kissing her. His insides burned like fire, consuming him and he finally felt whole, complete, perfect. He pulled her nearer, their bodies touching, but not near enough, never near enough.

Her lips were soft and warm and everything he had imagined them to be, but at the same time nothing alike. And then he felt her tongue touching his bottom lip, demanding entrance. And when they deepened their kiss the whole atmosphere changed. It changed from hesitatingly and slowly to unbearably passionate. He became urgent, every emotion, dejection, longing lying in this one kiss.

Both her hands travelled from his neck to his hair, her fingers running through his thick locks, twisting it almost painfully but pleasantly at the same time. She was hovering over him by now, her hair, freed from the ponytail at some point, fell over them like a red curtain.

They parted for a moment, because of the lack of oxygen. James opened his eyes to look at her, taking in her swollen lips and dark eyes, but before he could say a word her lips met his' again.

She was everywhere, her warmth surrounding him and he suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to feel her soft skin under his fingers. Slowly his right hand ran down from her hair, over her back to the hem of her shirt. His fingertips touched her creamy, flawless skin and she shuddered and moaned lightly. Pleased and encouraged by her reaction, his hands discovered her back and flat stomach under her shirt, finally settling on her waist.

She sank back down onto his lab, moving slowly and deliberately, her hands crawling up and down his chest. She began nibbling at his lower lip with her teeth when-

"OH MY GOD, LILY!"

Lily almost ripped his lips off as she jerkily dislodged herself from James. She would have fallen down to the ground by her hasty movements, if he hadn't still held her securely in his arms. She looked over his shoulders, her cheeks flaming when she saw her three friends standing behind the sofa, but his eyes didn't leave her face once.

"Lily" he whispered. Her eyes flickered to his for a moment but then she looked back at the girls and entangled herself from him. She coughed uncomfortably, everybody in the room staring at her silently.

"ahm..." she said awkwardly.

"We wondered what took you so long." Alice finally spoke up.

"We thought you would go through with the kiss and come back, but-" Mary stopped speaking, looking confusedly at Lily, who was shaking her head furiously. James had looked over his shoulder sharply at the word kiss and was now watching Lily intently.

"Girls!" someone shouted from upstairs and moments later Amy appeared running down in full speed. "Did she go through with the dare? How was-"She stopped when she was greeted by her friends who where frantically shaking their heads.

"It... was a dare?" James asked silently, his eyes showing every emotion within him.

Lily cleared her throat awkwardly. With a brief glance to her friends she nodded, avoiding his eyes completely. "Just a dare." And then, addressing the girls, she added "Let's go."

They all looked rather perplexed but turned nonetheless. James sank back into the sofa, his hands covering his face. It had been a dare. How stupid of him to let his hopes up. He should have known better. He ran his hands through his hair dejectedly, sighing. But then Lily was suddenly standing in front of him again. And with a smile that lightened the whole common room, hell, the whole castle, she kissed his cheek softly. And before she turned and vanished she whispered "Ask me out again" into his ear.


End file.
